Faces of the news

Manases Carpio

With the way things are going, it seems like Manases Carpio is not only married to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, but also to the controversies that hound the presidential family. Carpio and his brother-in-law, Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, were recently tagged as part of the Davao Group that allegedly helped facilitate into the country some P6.4 billion worth of “shabu” through the Bureau of Customs (BOC). Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV earlier said Carpio was seen at the BOC. Carpio replied that it was his job to appear before government agencies for and on behalf of his clients. Last May, Carpio was dragged into a controversy by a revolutionary farmers’ group which lambasted his wife for tagging the New People’s Army as a terror organization. This, after the rebels attacked a Lapanday Foods Corp. facility. Carpio is Lapanday’s lawyer.

Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog

The mayor of Iloilo City hogged the headlines after he was again publicly identified by President Duterte as a drug protector. The President then ordered the deployment of controversial police official Chief Insp. Jovie Espenido to Iloilo City. (However, the deployment was canceled on Saturday.) Mabilog reiterated his denial of the President’s allegation but publicly apologized if his efforts against illegal drugs were not enough. This did not stop the President from repeatedly mentioning Mabilog as one of the drug protectors. The President also ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to do a lifestyle check on Mabilog, describing the mayor’s house in the city as a “palace.” NBI agents later conducted an ocular inspection of Mabilog’s residence as hundreds of Ilonggos held a prayer rally to show support for the mayor.

Rowhanisa Abdul Jabar

It has been seven years since her son, then 3 years old, was snatched from their home in Tondo, Manila, but Rowhanisa Abdul Jabar has not forgotten him. When she was shown a Facebook photo of a 10-year-old boy that bears a striking resemblance to her son, Jabar was suddenly filled with hope of seeing Ramram again. But it was a guarded hope because the picture was that of a boy clad in a fatigue uniform and carrying an assault rifle, alongside two other “child warriors.” A Facebook user sent her the photo that purportedly came from a Bangsamoro FB page where pictures of the Islamic State-inspired Maute fighters were posted. “If that boy is really my son, I have been waiting so long to get him back. If he is in the war zone, please return him to me. He is not your son,” Jabar said in an emotional appeal to his kidnappers.

Sister Mary John Mananzan

The activist nun was at the forefront of the fight against the Marcos dictatorship in the 1970s. Forty years later, Sister Mary John Mananzan has not shown any signs of slowing down. She’s still at it. At last Monday’s launch of the Movement Against Tyranny, she was among the recognizable faces along with former Sen. Rene Saguisag, Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Lorenzo Tañada III, Neri Colmenares, UP Chancellor Michael Tan, law dean Jose Manuel Diokno, actor Mae Paner, Edith Burgos and others. The group is calling for a halt to the drug killings, and the “tyranny and fascism” of the administration, but stopped short of calling for President Duterte’s resignation. “At this point, we are not saying that yet. We will see how our movement progresses,” Mananzan said.

John Colin Syquia

A newcomer in the Southeast Asian Games, John Colin Syquia wasn’t exactly in the Philippines’ gold-medal radar. But the 46-year-old national team rookie showed composure in a thrilling finale to bag the country’s lone gold in the equestrian events. Syquia and his mount Adventure E ruled the individual show jumping after clocking the fastest time of 37.63 seconds in a five-man jump-off. He had finished tied with four other riders after two rounds. In the upset, the Florida-based horse dealer edged several Malaysian favorites, including 2015 champion Sharimini Christina Ratnasingham. Syquia also shared the team silver with Chiara Sophia Amor, Joker Arroyo and Toni Leviste. “This is the first time I’ve represented my country and it’s an immense feeling of pride and honor,” he said. “I can’t explain it.”

Dines Dumaan

Needing to run off excess weight before the competition, Dines Dumaan still found enough strength to dominate his opponent and capture a gold in pencak silat in the Southeast Asian Games. The 21-year-old fighter had to run before plunging into action to lose 2 extra kilos and meet the weight limit in his event, the tanding Class A 45-50 kilogram division. While some would have been spent come game time, Dumaan surprisingly overpowered Indonesia’s Firman, 4-1, in the finals to win the Philippines’ 24th and final gold in the biennial meet. The Capiz native, though, isn’t new to hard work. A son of rice farmers, Dumaan worked his way up in the national team as a grassroots discovery from the National Games. And he was worth the wait as Dumaan won the country’s first pencak gold in 12 years.